Kids
by HeyNowNow
Summary: Joey runs away from home for the night and makes a new friend (Joey/Kaiba)


Joey ran as fast as he could away from the apartment he lived in with his dad, tears in his eyes but it didn't deter him from pushing his small legs as quickly as they would take him. It had been a year since his parents got a divorce, and he didn't know how but his dad had somehow gotten worse. At least when his mom and sister still lived with them, there would be times when his dad was sober, but now he was drunk morning, noon, and night. And he was even meaner than he ever was before. Joey would hide in his closet, cover himself with a blanket to stay out of the way of his father's wrath, but he would still find him, like tonight. Find him and beat him, but lucky for Joey his dad lost his balance just before his final blow landed and he fell back, giving Joey enough time to scramble to his feet and run out the door.

It was late, just past midnight, but Joey didn't fear the night or strangers. Living with his dad cured him of a lot of fears, and he knew he would be safer in the deserted streets. It wasn't until he realized his legs had taken him to a park that he stopped and took a breath. A gust of wind picked up and it caused Joey to wrap his arms around himself and shiver. He didn't grab anything to cover himself, he only had on a thin, worn out t shirt and shorts. Still holding himself he walked into the park, excited to play on the swings for a little while.

The playground was illuminated, and despite himself, Joey smiled when he reached the swings and grabbed the handle. He went to sit but before he took off, he saw a dark figure underneath the slide. Joey frowned and wondered if maybe he should leave, if whatever was down there could hurt him more than his dad already did. He got off the swing and walked slowly to the slide, craning his neck to get a better view of what was down there, but it wasn't until he was practically under the slide himself that he said, "Hey, you're a kid."

The kid in question had his knees pulled up to his chest and his face buried, but he jumped and looked up when he heard Joey's voice, and that's when Joey could see he had been crying. The kid had brown hair that hung low, just over his eyes. He was wearing a yellow colored shirt with a blue vest. He looked pretty well-to-do. Joey pulled his mouth to the side and wondered what a kid like him was doing in a park, alone, at midnight.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked him. The boy bit his lower lip and turned his whole body so his back was towards him. Joey went to sit next to him, his legs crossed. "Aren't your parents going to be worried about you?" Sure, he had parents who didn't love him, but Joey found it impossible to believe other kids had his luck.

"My parents are dead," the boy said, burying his face in his knees again.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Joey said, not knowing what else to say.

The boy lifted his head and rubbed his eyes with his fist. "My family put my little brother and me in an orphanage, so no one's going to be worried about me."

"You have a little brother? Where is he?" Joey asked, looking around.

"I left him sleeping in his bed. I just wanted to be alone."

"Oh. Uh. I should go, then." Joey made to leave, but the boy grabbed his sleeve.

"No, it's okay. What about you? Aren't your parents going to be worried?"

Joey shook his head. "My dad's who I'm running away from." He lifted his shirt to show the boy the bruises, old and new, that riddled his abdomen.

"What about your mom?"

"She's gone. She left last year with my little sister."

"I'm sorry," the boy said, furrowing his brow because he didn't know what else to say.

Joey shrugged. He looked forward and in the bushes in front of them he could see a ball. His face lit up and he said, "Hey! Let's play!"

The boy was confused as he watched Joey run off, but when he saw the ball himself he got up from under the slide and stopped the ball with his foot when Joey kicked it to him. They designated goals and played soccer. Quickly the two boys began laughing and shouting, running around and doing their best to steal the ball from each other. For a few blissful moments their worries were washed away, and all they concerned themselves with was the ball and their opponent.

"I lost count! Was it five-six or still five-five?" Joey asked, falling down on his knees and panting.

The boy was sitting on his bottom, his arms behind him holding him up. He shrugged. "I don't know, I wasn't keeping count. It's funner when you don't."

"That's true!"

Done with soccer, Joey kicked the ball back into the bushes and the two boys ran to the swings.

"I'll push you!" Joey said, getting behind the boy.

"Okay!" The boy said, sitting down and letting himself be pushed. They both laughed, and in that moment the boy remembered the last time he visited a playground with his parents. His father always pushed him on the swing. Joey thought about his little sister, how she would laugh and ask him to push her harder when they would go to a park together. The boys missed their respective family members so much, but to forget about it, the boy turned to Joey and said, "Hey, watch this!"

Joey stepped back and watched as the boy jumped off the swing once it was in the highest point forward. He smiled in delight when he saw the boy catch some serious height and he landed on his knees.

"That was awesome!" Joey said, jumping up and down.

"Let me push you now!" The boy said, running back and getting behind the swing so he could push Joey. Since the boy was bigger, he was able to push Joey even harder, so he was pretty high when he jumped off the swing himself, but he could tell when he landed he didn't make it as far as the boy had.

"That was great!" The boy said, running to him.

"You think? I didn't get as far as you," Joey said, pouting.

The boy held his hand out to him and pulled him up. "That's because I'm taller than you, but you still landed really far!"

"What do you want to do now?"

The boy yawned and said, "I think I should go back now, I need to check in on my brother."

"Oh. Ok. I should probably go home too, then. Maybe my dad's asleep now."

"I hope so. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you, too!"

The boy smiled and waved before turning around and running towards the back exit of the park. Joey looked after him and it wasn't until he was out of sight did he realize he never asked the boy's name. He groaned and slapped his hand to face. He looked around the park and saw something on the ground next to the swing set. He walked over and picked it up. It was a duel monster card.

"Baby Dragon," Joey read out loud. He turned again in the direction the boy ran off to. He must have dropped the card when he was pushing him. It was a cute card. Joey smiled, he had seen classmates playing the game during recess, but he had no way of collecting the cards himself. He turned on his heel and headed out of the park from where he came in. He studied the card and then put it in his pocket. He would take good care of his new friend's card and would be sure to give it back to him if he ever bumped into him again.

Joey had enough of Seto Kaiba. Sure, he could understand that he was worried about his brother, but they were all at Duelist Kingdom fighting for a loved one, and he was going to feed the rich spoiled jerk some humble pie, either with his fists or his deck.

Kaiba smirked when Joey played his Baby Dragon during their Battle City duel. He knew what would be coming next, Time Wizard. An old strategy that he was ready for. And it amused him to no end that Joey played with a card he hadn't had since he was a child.

Joey and Kaiba sat together on the sand, looking out at the waves. They had spent the morning swimming in the ocean, playing around and enjoying their honeymoon. Now they were exhausted and let the sun dry them off before figuring out where they'd go for lunch. Joey leaned his head on his husband's shoulder and Kaiba rested his head over Joey's.

It was a long, windy road for them to get to this point, but both felt a peace and calm when they were alone together that they never felt with anyone else. When they were alone together nothing else mattered, it was like the world and its concerns vanished and all that mattered was each other.

Joey blinked rapidly and moved to pull away, the safety he felt with Kaiba jarring a long forgotten memory.

"Hey, have I ever told you about this one time when I was a kid and met this other kid at this park?"

Kaiba looked at him and shook his head. "No?"

* * *

**Cut to black**


End file.
